


Arthur's Secrets

by gwyllion



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-26
Updated: 2014-07-26
Packaged: 2018-03-09 02:36:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3233084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gwyllion/pseuds/gwyllion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for week 2 of Summer Pornathon 2014, for the prompt: Secrets.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Arthur's Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> I used the pornathon to experiment with different styles and techniques. In this entry, I changed the tense of the piece a dozen times over the course of the week. As the deadline approached, I could no longer comprehend what I was writing. Nothing made any sense. Thank goodness for participation points!

Merlin doesn’t know that I keep the secret from him.

I close the door of my chambers, taking care to latch the lock behind my back. In the candlelight, I see that he’s already made it to bed long before me. The journey back to Camelot from the far reaches of the kingdom has exhausted us both—another search for my sister without success. In the dim quiet, one slender foot pokes out from beneath the covers. It lazily hangs in the air like the dragon sparks I’ve seen him create when he thought I wasn’t looking.

I lean back against the solid wood of the door and close my eyes.

My father’s words wreath around my head like smoke from a damp wood fire. He will not tolerate sorcery and the pure evil he insists will flood the kingdom if its practitioners are not stopped. The musky scent of my chambers fills me with the first peace I’ve felt since I stood before my father for half the afternoon listening to his angry edict before the council. I take a deep breath and let the comfort of familiarity soothe me.

I exhale to push my father’s words away.

Stripping off my tunic, I sit on the bed carefully so as not to wake Merlin. My boots land silently on the stone floor. The mattress dips beneath my weight. I can’t resist sliding my hand underneath Merlin’s bare heel. His skin feels cool against my warm palm, but he doesn’t stir.

The fear of my secret blooms in my chest.

I brush my thumb across Merlin’s instep and close my eyes to shut out Merlin’s screams as the imagined flames lick at his slim feet. The villagers shout their rage, demanding a slow death for the sorcerer. Merlin’s cries etch themselves into my thoughts while the pyre blazes with the fire my father has kindled beneath him.

Before my tears can fall, I remember that I must keep my secret to ensure Merlin’s safety from Uther and his mandates.

Merlin emits a little snuffle when I give his toes a squeeze. I gently push at his foot until he draws his leg beneath the covers. I smooth my hand over the blanket, grateful for the opportunity to protect Merlin from the cold. If I had my way, I’d be strong enough in battle so Merlin never had to use his magic—he’d never have to risk being caught.

I still my movements and watch his lips curl into the smile I know so well.

Sometimes it scares me that the lips from which the ancient words spill when he shakes the earth with his power are the same lips that suckle at my cock when Merlin favours me with his attention. The voice that murmurs encouragement when I fuck him is the same voice that spews the mysterious words of dragon speech.

He doesn’t know that I’ve seen Kilgharrah.

I stand to push off my breeches and smallclothes before slipping into bed beside Merlin. The candle flame wavers with the flurry of shifting blankets. I wrap one arm around Merlin’s waist. The other finds its home beside his head where I can pet his hair. He awakens enough to touch my hand with the same clever fingers that spark lightning against my enemies. I take his wrist, just as elegant as it would be if bound by a rope to the stake that haunts my dreams. I bury my nose into his neck and shush him back to sleep. I breathe in the smooth shoulders that carry the weight of his secret, which must be as frightening to bear as my own.

I am bound to be loyal to my father.

If I commit treason by divulging my secret, the noose that cinches around my neck will cause more tears to fall from Merlin’s eyes than from my own.


End file.
